Honolulu-born actor Jacob Batalon steps away from his buddy role in the “Spider-Man” films to take on the lead role in a new Syfy series “Reginald the Vampire,” which premieres next week.

“Reginald the Vampire” is based on the book series “Fat Vampire,” by Johnny B. Truant. While some elements have been changed — in the book, Reginald is an overweight treadmill salesman, while in the show he works at a fast-food restaurant — the general thrust of the story is the same: A socially inept young man gets turned into a vampire hoping to join the cool crowd, but has to battle for acceptance among his new bloodsucking friends as well.

In a video for TV Insider, Batalon described his character as “a very everyday person” who is “not trying to be anything or be anyone.”

“He’s neurotic and he’s thoughtful at the same time, but he’s very much human in that he’s never really experienced love,” Batalon said. “He’s very much in that area where he’s just trying to figure life out, and that’s sort of where we all are.”

Batalon, a Damien High School graduate, received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Ned Leeds, best friend to Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, in the latest iteration of the “Spider-Man” movie franchise. Batalon has parlayed that into roles in small independent films, such as 2019’s “The True Don Quixote,” and the romantic comedy “Let It Snow,” which was released on Netflix in 2019.

The horror-comedy series premieres at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the SyFy channel. The show’s episodes also will be available to stream on Peacock the day after they air. For more, go to syfy.com.